Counterattack

Lucario's Double Team is an example of a counterattack.

A counterattack is a type of special move. On use, they render the user temporarily invincible followed by a sizable period of lag. Should an attack attempt to hit the user while they are invincible, the attack will be blocked and the user will automatically use an attack of their own, presumably hitting whoever was attacking unless it was a projectile. Some counterattacks do more damage when they activate against a stronger attack, while some do the same damage all the time. All counterattacks go through shields, making all of them unblockable, although counterattacks can be countered by another counterattack if a player is frame perfect.

A correctly-timed counterattack can tilt the momentum of a match towards the user, though as they are generally not effective on reaction, reading the opponent is crucial. Simply countering repeatedly in hopes of getting one in will result in a competent opponent waiting until the move's lag to attack, or simply using an uncounterable grab.

Unblockable attacks cannot be countered, though depending on the move, the user may still not take damage due to the counterattack's initial invincibility frames. Unlike reflectors, there is no limit to how much damage can be countered.

In Smash 4, counterattacks cannot counter some explosive attacks such as Link's Bombs and Steel Diver missles, instead giving the user full immunity against them during the counter frames. Stronger explosions can be countered, however, such as the Bob-omb. Aesthetically, most counterattacks gain a unique particle effect once the counter activates: a wave quickly appears, representing a heartbeat. This applies to all counterattacks lacking a separate particle effect, namely the entire cast that possesses a counterattack save for Greninja and Shulk (although his counter also has a yellow heartbeat wave on the very frame he counters a move). Each counterattack's heartbeat wave colour varies: Palutena's is blue, Little Mac's is red, and so on.

List of counterattacks

• Counter is shared by Marth, Roy, Ike, and Lucina. Marth's Counter acts faster than Roy's or Ike's, but also has more lag afterwards. The damage dealt depends on the user and the game:
  • In Melee, Marth's Counter does 7% regardless of the attack.
  • In Brawl, Marth's Counter does 1.1x the damage of the attack, with a minimum of 8%.
  • Roy's Counter does 1.5x the damage of the attack.
  • Ike's Counter does 1.2x the damage of the attack, with a minimum of 10%.
  • Lucina's counter is functionally identical to Marth's. The animation, however, is different.
• Double Team is Lucario's counterattack. When used, Lucario vanishes out of the way of an attack and reappears behind the opponent, striking them with a sliding kick. He has the option to attack in the opposite direction too. It is the slowest of all counterattacks to hit once activated, to the point of it being possible to simply avoid in some cases. Its power does not change based on the activation attack, but it does change based on Lucario's aura, with a base damage of 11%.
• Slip Counter is Little Mac's counterattack, taking the form of an uppercut. When used, Little Mac does a fake-out, dodging the opponent's attack, and socks them with an uppercut. Unlike most other counterattacks, this move can be a useful though risky horizontal recovery option as he takes a big step forward if the move activates, boosting Little Mac's infamously sub-par recovery if he successfully counters anything. Also, Little Mac is invincible while counterattacking, so nothing can stop it.
• Greninja uses a Substitute as its counter. If Greninja is hit while using this move, it vanishes, being replaced by a green doll or a wooden log, and then reappears rushing in a single direction, attacking the opponent. This counter works similarly to Lucario's Double Team, the counterattack being slow and avoidable, but Greninja can reappear in all eight directions, allowing Greninja to confuse opponents or even use the counterattack as a recovery.
• Toad is Peach's counterattack, being a neutral special move instead of a down special move like other characters. Toad operates slightly differently than other counterattacks: Peach does become invincible during part of the move, but not for the entire counterable duration, and hitting her does not activate the counter. Instead, Toad has a separate hurtbox that activates the counter, which is a set of nine spore shots that each do 2% and fire at random angles. The spores can be absorbed and result in the move having the longest reach of any counterattack. In Smash 4, the counterattack activates if Peach is hit anywhere, making it more reliable.
• Counter is Palutena's down special move. She puts up her shield, and if hit while this shield is active, she will strike back with her staff. Give the length of her staff, this counterattack has more range than most.
• Interception Arm and Electrocut Arm are custom variants of Pit's Upperdash Arm and Dark Pit's Electroshock Arm, respectively. Both turn their side specials into counterattacks, thus they will not dash. To compensate, Pit's and Dark Pit's attacks will be stronger and will grant them super armor while doing so (for Dark Pit, at least).
• Timber Counter is a custom variant of Villager's Timber. Unlike being an actual "get hit then retaliate" counterattack, Timber Counter gives the Villager's tree a longer lifetime and the ability to attack opponents if they hit it when fully grown. Other stages of the attack allow the tree to disrupt opponents, such as the sapling tripping opponents if they walk over it, though the tree deals less damage if chopped down. The tree also pulses red periodically, making it more obvious than the standard Timber.
• Vision is Shulk's down special move, using a slash from the Monado. It is unique as it possesses two different counterattacks: a slow but wide-ranged slash or a quick dashing slash with higher base knockback that can be only done if Shulk is grounded. It has the longest counter window in the entire series when fresh, but the window becomes shorter each time the move is used. The window can be recharged over time by simply not using the move.
• Blade Counter is the Mii Swordfighter's down special. When used, the Mii will lean back a bit and hold their sword behind them in reverse grip. Should anything attack him/her during this, the Mii will respond with a quick slash. The counterattack does 1.25x the damage of the attack, with a minimum of 8%.